The Minnesota Twins are giving away 5,000 t-shirts with Chicano artist, Jimmy Longoria's interpretation of the team’s logo for its “T-Shirt Tuesday Artist Series”. The free t-shirt give-away will occur on September 13th, for the Twins v. Kansas City game at the Minneapolis Target field. Jimmy is behind many murals displayed throughout Minneapolis. They can be recognized by their “dazzling color, contrast and multiple layers created with thousands of brush strokes.” He is also the only Chicano to receive the Archibald Bush Artist Fellowship in Fine Art, and the only artist to receive the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Living the Dream” award. Through his non-profit organization, Mentoring Peace Through Art, and its program, MuralWorks in the Schools, Jimmy introduces the youth to produce a community art piece as a team. The collaboration between the artist and the MLB is part of a series that began on May 10, with other Twin Cities-based artists Alxndr Jones, Lindsey Made This’, Emiko Rainbow, and Sotagraphics.

The City of Minneapolis and the Department of Human Rights (MDHR) seek to reach an agreement on consent decree this fall. The MDHR presented their report in April- 2022, where they met with “over 2,200 community members, including Minneapolis police officers.” The MDHR found that the MPD had engaged in patterns of racist and sexual policing.  Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey shared the budget proposal for public safety in August- 2022, where $5 million would go to fulfilling potential consent decrees. The MDHR partnered with the Minnesota Justice Center to engage with communities who have undergone the MPD’s patterns. The main concerns for the decree are “changes in use of force, traffic stops, social media, accountability, and training, and to emphasize seeing the humanity in one another.” However, many agree that they don’t have faith in the decree, as Linden Gawboy of Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar expressed. The Coalition has a proposition for the MPD to allow for community control of the police and to release the data with closed complaints from the last 10 years. 

For the first time, three Black gymnasts swept the podium at the 2022 U.S.Gymnastics Championships. The women who won, Konnor McClain, 17; Shilese Jones; 20; and Jordan Chiles, 21, finished with final scores between 111.9 and 112.75. To put that into context, Simone Biles won the championships in 2021 with a score of 119.65, which was nearly five points above the runner-up during that competition. That’s just to say that scores between 111 and 112 are really impressive. The gold medalist, Konnor McClain, won the competition after having overcome two stress fractures, a concussion, the flu, and the passing of her father last year. Her win, as well as the achievements of the other two women were celebrated by many on social media, with fans hailing the historic moment as “Black excellence”. 

Hanging out in the Twin Cities is a great way to spend the day.
Here are some upcoming events that you may want to check out!

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• The Afton Apple Flower Festival is happening on September 3rd and 4th from 10a.m.-6p.m. Visitors can walk through several acres of flower fields and pick their own zinnias and sunflowers for a fee per flower picked.

• ​The ​Ham Lake farmers and artisan market is happening this coming Wednesday, September 7th from 3p.m.-7p.m. The market is focused on local crafters and local food, and visitors can expect many crafts stands and food trucks as well as local produce.

• The Glitch Art is Dead  exhibit is opening September 2nd in Granite Falls, MN, from 10-4pm. There will be featured artists, workshops, and performances. Come and learn more about glitch art!

The Minnesota State Fair has its first Hmong food vendor, Union Hmong Kitchen. Located at International Bazaar to the left of the stage. Chef Yia Vang shared about their first year at the fair and the traditions in Hmong culture. Hmong Sausage, HillTribe Chicken Thigh and Lemongrass Turmeric Tofu with purple sticky rice and three sauce choices are on the menu for State Fair visitors.